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Such Peculiar Names: The Significance of Naming in Zambia
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22220 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 2002 |
2,335 Words |
| Author
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Mwizenge S. Tembo
Mwizenge S. Tembo is associate professor of sociology at
Bridgewater College in Virginia. He wishes to comment that, of
course, one should exercise common sense, maintain good
hygiene, and take necessary medical precautions whenever
eating in a foreign country. Fears of contaminated food
and "dirty" water frequently create worries for the average
Western visitor to Zambia. Indeed, visitors may experience
some food-related discomforts. But be assured that in Zambia
most well-cooked foods, especially nshima, are clean, as is
water from faucets, taps, or concrete wells in rural areas. |
Zambians gain as many as four names during their lifetime, each of which has particular relevance, and their use often defines social relationships and levels of intimacy.
What if you heard about or actually knew someone whose real first name was Because, Clever, Shame, Financial, or Trouble? You would probably conclude that these are nicknames, imposed somehow on unwilling individuals. Or perhaps the names were chosen by people who did not know English and were therefore ignorant of the words' true meanings. You might even be tempted to think that they were imposed by callous parents who wanted their children to be easy targets for teasing on school playgrounds. All these assumptions would be wrong.
Such unusual, strange, or outright funny first names are willingly chosen, cherished, and celebrated among most people of the southern African country of Zambia. Why do Zambians accept these names? This is one of the many consequences of social change both in Zambia and Africa as a whole.
I was first inspired to research this issue some twenty years ago. At the time I lived in Lusaka, the capital of my native Zambia. I was reading the Sunday Times when my wife drew my attention to the fact that some of the names in the paper were interesting, absurd, or downright hilarious. These were names of ordinary citizens but also those of magistrates and national leaders.
Zambians often joked about some of these names and speculated about their origins. One prominent leader at the time was known as Bwembya Lukutati. The speculation was that this man's surname may have meant he had been "looked at" a lot when he was growing up. One cabinet minister was named Steak Mwale, which was spelled "Siteke" Mwale. Such names as Fork and Cabbage (pronounced as "foloko" and "kabici," respectively) were common among the Lamba people working in the urban areas of Zambia's Copperbelt.
Other people are named for cities or famous ancestors. For example, Fines Bulawayo was a member of the ruling Central Committee of the then United National Independence Party (UNIP). Bulawayo is a city in the neighboring country of Zimbabwe. Paul Lusaka, another Zambian national leader, was a descendant of the original Chief Lusakas. He gave his name to a Zambian village that was located at the site of the present national capital in the early 1920s, during the British colonial period in Zambia.
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